Socio-demographic characteristics of women and support systems as potential determining factors of the fertility level in Serbia

This paper aims to examine, based on the results of an empirical quantitative study, the influence of various factors on women's decisions regarding the number of children they will have. The research was conducted through a survey carried out between 2020 and 2023 at the Faculty of Philosophy in Belgrade. In analyzing the data, we focused on socio-demographic characteristics and the family and social context, which-according to our theoretical framework-are assumed to influence respondents' decisions to have one or more children. To examine the correlation of these factors, in addition to variable relationship tests, we also used a binary logistic regression model. The analysis showed that significant predictors included the respondent's age, marital status, age at the birth of the first child, and the perceived importance of kindergartens in balancing work and parenting. Predictors that were theoretically assumed to be significant but were not confirmed as such include the respondent's material status, level of education, employment status, and whether she received help during the child-rearing period. However, correlation testing indicated that the number of hours of support provided by older generations is correlated with decisions about family size. Therefore, it can be concluded that, in addition to individual characteristics, external factors-especially support available to young mothers-play an essential role in family planning.